The present invention relates to medical devices and treatment methods, including injection or infusion devices, systems, apparatus and methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ampoule for use with an administering device such as an injection or infusion apparatus, wherein the ampoule and the administering device have ampoule recognition characteristics or features.
Devices for administering product fluids from ampoules are known in the form of portable injection or infusion apparatus which are used, for example, in insulin treatment. Typically, an ampoule filled with a substance to be administered is coupled to an administering device—often referred to as a pen or an injection pen—in order to administer or dispense the substance contained in the ampoule to a patient via the administering device. There are a multitude of substances which are administered in this way, such as preparations comprising insulin for diabetes, growth hormones (hGH: human Growth Hormone) for disturbed growth, erythropoietin (Epo) for renal insufficiency or general erythrocytopenia,α-interferon for hepatitis or cancer treatment, or potentiating agents to name but a few. The ampoules, which are often geometrically and/or structurally identical, may be filled with various, different substances or with different concentrations of similar substances.
In order to reduce the danger of confusing containers or ampoules containing different substances, it is known to use variously formed or configured administering devices into which only respectively corresponding, complementary or otherwise suitably configured containers or ampoules can be inserted.
A container is known from WO 98/00187, which describes a color coding which can be attached to the container, wherein the coding consists of a number of different colored fields, whereby a property of a container or its contents can be recognized by means of an optical sensor system.
Another container and a device for administering a substance is known from WO 01/56635 A1, belonging to the Applicant, wherein a recognition element is assigned to the container.